tomorrow
by esmeaplatt
Summary: It was all behind them now- bullet wounds had scarred over and surgical incisions were fading; they were back at work, back to their regular lives. They were happy but what they'd almost lost still weighed heavily on their minds.


**Tomorrow**

 _"I know you're still just a dream_  
 _your eyes might be green_  
 _or the bluest that I've ever seen."_  
\- Elton John "Blessed"

* * *

The moonlight shined across their cooling skin as their breathing returned to normal. She watched with a small smile as his fingers moved along her stomach, dancing slowly around her bellybutton.

"That tickles, Castle." Kate murmured.

He stopped his movements, laying his hand flat on her stomach for a moment and then moving it to curl his arm around her middle. He pulled her closer to his side, leaning his head down to kiss to her shoulder.

She closed her eyes. "I love you."

He smiled against her shoulder and then pressed another kiss to her neck. "I love you too."

They laid in a comfortable silence, still reveling in the feel of each other after all they'd been through. Their lives had been dangerous since they'd known each other- the first case they'd worked together had ended in the killer holding a gun to Castle's head. They had grown accustomed to the fighting, to the guns, and the criminals. The blood and the tears, dodging bullets and car chases- they were used to. But Lokstat, getting shot- both of them in the middle of their kitchen. They'd almost died, almost lost the future they both so desperately wanted to build together.

It was all behind them now- bullet wounds had scarred over and surgical incisions were fading; they were back at work, back to their regular lives. They were happy but what they'd almost lost still weighed heavy on their minds, especially in quiet moments such as this.

She shifted onto her side, resting her head against his chest to listen to the sound of his heartbeat. It was steady and strong, so unlike that night in the hospital when the gunshot had almost been too much.

Kate lifted her hand, gently tracing his healed bullet wound with her finger. "I want to have a baby." She blurted out.

She felt his sharp intake of breath, felt the hand that hand been moving along her back still. "What?"

Kate lifted her head to look at him, repeating softly. "I want to have a baby, Rick."

His eyes roamed her face for a moment before a bright smile spread across his face, his eyes crinkling with it. "You do?" Castle asked her, resting his hand on her hip. He moved his thumb slowly, gently against her skin. "Why now?"

"We almost died and I kept thinking...there was so much we never got to do. There were so many things I wanted. For us."

"One of those things was...a baby?"

She nodded. "We've talked about it before."

"I know but that was before-"

"Before...everything." Before his disappearance, before Lokstat, their separation. "But now," Kate continued. "it's all behind us. Everything is back to normal."

"Normal for us." Castle smiled.

"Normal for us, yeah. And we've healed, we're healthy." She paused, her brow furrowing slightly. "And Castle, I'm not getting getting any younger…"

"I'm older than you."

"I know but you know what I mean, Castle…"

He nodded and watched her for a moment, smiling again. "You really want to have a baby?"

Kate laid her hand on his cheek, leaning forward to kiss him softly. "More than anything."

The hand that he had resting gently on her hip moved, his arm wrapping around her back and pulling her closer before he rolled them over. He planted one hand beside her head to support his weight and then pulled the other free from under her, using it to brush her hair back out of her face.

She smiled up at him, reaching up to lay her hand on his cheek again as she spoke softly. "Can you imagine our baby, Castle?"

"What do you imagine?" He asked her. "When you think about our baby."

She was quiet for a moment, thinking. "A little boy. Sweet and adventurous with your imagination. Your heart. Bright blue eyes." She added. "What about you?"

"I think about a little girl. She's so incredibly smart and has the kindest heart, an incredible sense of humor for a kid. She's a real force to be reckoned with. Your green eyes, your nose too."

Kate smiled. "My nose?"

"It's adorable."

"What if we have a boy?"

"He'll be just as extraordinary as I imagine our daughter would be."

She stroked her thumb along his cheek, her eyes roaming his face. He was already an incredible father. The mental image of him holding their child made her stomach flutter.

"You're going to be an amazing mother, Kate." He murmured.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Kate smiled, gently pulling him down to kiss her. She kissed him slowly and then pulled back just enough to whisper. "We'll start trying tomorrow."

He nodded. "Tomorrow."

* * *

 **AN:** I can't believe I wrote a fic acknowledging the garbage pile that was season 8 as canon.


End file.
